Letters And Names
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: After comforting a frightened Lenalee, Allen is asked to do something for her, and in his flustered state, he shares some simple facts with her, as well as some he never really intended to be known...Allena Fluff! Revised!


**My second Allena fic yay!! Sorry its a bit random but its fluffy and fluff's what I do best! Please enjoy everyone!! **

**Disclaimer: I LOVE it but sadly I do not own D. Gray-Man :(**

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Letters And Names

There was a chill in the air tonight as the cold breeze slipped in between the naked trunks of the trees, shaking them so the branches twisted and clattered against one another.

The moon was in the shape of a thin cat's claw, hardly visible at all through the trembling branches and misty clouds that floated across the black sky like the trails of ghosts. No stars speckled the heavens tonight; the weak, misty moonlight given off through the clouds was the only source of brightness.

Lenalee Lee stirred in her bed, a cold sweat covering her skin as small, almost inaudible whimpers escaped her lips.

Seconds later, her violet eyes flew open and she found herself in her room at the Black Order.

She lay there and just caught her breath for a moment, trying desperately to push away the remnants of her nightmare. Every night she had the same one, and by now she was aware that it was that dream as soon as she saw the familiar destroyed buildings and lapping water. She would find herself crying until she finally spotted the body of one of her dearest friends.

Each night, this changed. Some nights she would find the body of Kanda or Lavi or one of the other members she knew well. On more torturous nights, it would be the body of her older brother, which always woke her up crying.

But tonight, as it often was, the body she had seen in her dream had been none other than that of Allen Walker.

For some reason, whenever her nightmare chose to show her this person, she always woke up immediately after she recognized him. Usually she gave herself time to weep in her dream, but seeing sweet little Allen's corpse floating in the water and staining it crimson with blood caused her to wake up so swiftly, she often almost got sick with the swiftness of her movements.

Now, she lay in her bed, trying to swallow the bile that rose in her throat at the sight of her close friend's body. She sat up, knowing that she would never get back to sleep now. This was normal for her, as she often got up out of bed to just walk around and clear her mind whenever this dream haunted her.

She slid out of her bed and felt more awake now, and she knew that she would not be getting back to sleep anytime soon. So she undressed from her long nightgown and instead slipped into her Exorcist uniform. Sometimes when she went out for this nightly walk, she stayed out so late that it was actually early. So she changed into her uniform now so as to not need to later.

Glancing out the window, she saw that the tree barks were covered in the slightest layer of white frost. She grabbed the long, black, dress-like jacket she usually wore during the Autumn and Winter months. She connected three buttons down the chest and let the material fall down to her ankles. She was grateful for the second layer of long sleeves as she shivered a bit, flipping her long pigtails over her shoulders and down her back. She then exited her room and quietly closed the door behind her.

Once she reached the hallways, she set her pace directly for the doors, her feet automatically knowing where to take her, having done it so many times before. She got outside through a small door that not many people knew about, in fact she did not know of anyone else who knew it existed. It was away from all the annoying gatekeepers and it was out of the way so no one really ever came across it. It led to a small courtyard that was encompassed by buildings on all four sides.

Lenalee loved this place simply because she never recalled ever seeing anyone else here. At this hour, she had it all to herself.

She walked the perimeter of the area at a leisurely pace, all debris of her nightmare forgotten. She let the cool Autumn air fill her lungs to capacity before exhaling slowly each time. The coolness of the air refreshed her and she did not feel the slightest bit tired now.

As she paced the area for the fourth time, she was gazing up at the moon, all other senses lost except her sight. It captivated her and made her halt in her tracks.

Suddenly, she felt a pressure on her left shoulder, as though someone had grabbed her. She snapped back into reality as she whipped around, preparing a powerful kick but froze instantly when she saw whom it was.

"L-Lenalee?!"

"A-Allen-kun?!" The girl forced herself to a stop as the boy ducked, shielding his face in case she had not ceased her attack in time. Lenalee regained her balance and Allen straightened up immediately, embarrassed.

"W-What are you doing here?" Lenalee asked, astonished.

"W-Well you see, I-I was just up for a midnight snack and decided to take a walk here. Then I saw you, but you were staring at the sky and you looked like you were going to be sick o-or something. I called your name three times but you didn't answer. I-I just wanted to know if you were okay." He replied hurriedly.

Lenalee blinked, taking in what he had just said and feeling ashamed that she had almost kicked him simply because he was worried about her.

"Sorry." She bowed her head, her bangs covering her eyes.

"N-N-No! Really, it's fine!" Allen waved his hands vigorously in front of him. "As they say, 'no harm, no foul' right?" When she kept the same position, Allen became flustered. "It's all right. I shouldn't have snuck up on you and startled you like that. P-Please, Lenalee, d-don't cry." He simply could not stand it when a girl cried, _especially _Lenalee and _especially _if it was because of something he did.

He smiled as the girl lifted her head again, but the grin quickly faded away when he saw the look in her eyes. The once beautiful, sparkling, violet irises were now dull and full of agony. It pained Allen to see her that way; he felt as though he had just been stabbed in the heart.

Gently, he placed both hands on her shoulders. "Lenalee, what's wrong?" He asked, genuine concern easily detected on each syllable.

"It's…N-Nothing…" She sniffed. Allen's eyes widened and he blushed, flustered at the fact that she was crying.

"L-Lenalee! It's okay. Please, don't cry." He begged, his eyebrows furrowing. Then he added. "I know it's not 'nothing', Lenalee, otherwise you wouldn't be crying." She did not reply, just lowered her head even more and sneezed, trying to avoid doing so on him. She sniffed a few more times before Allen suggested, "Why don't we go inside and sit down somewhere? It's cold out here." She did not protest as he laid one arm across her shoulders and led her into the nearest building.

The room they entered was dark and deserted, and it took Allen a moment to realize that perhaps he had chosen the worst possible place to bring her now. It was the same room where she had told him about her horrible nightmares once before, and he got a sense of déjà vu at the nostalgia of it all. He led her over to a small bench at the corner of the room.

To his dismay, Lenalee had still not stopped crying and Allen was now more worried than flustered. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly, pulling her closer to him comfortingly. She shook her head and tears flew off of her face as she nestled closer and buried her face in his shoulder.

The confused, silver-haired boy blinked in bewilderment, but squeezed her tighter nonetheless. Several shivers went through her body, and he felt them as clearly as if it were himself trembling in the wake of the cold winds that slipped through the cracks.

He rested his head on top of hers and soothingly stroked her arm. "You know you can tell me anything." He whispered.

He felt her body jolt with hiccups and sobs, and he felt her tears seeping into his uniform. But he did not mind, he just wanted her to stop crying, and if that meant letting her get it all out here and now, than so be it.

"I-It was…the same dream…" She managed to choke out. Allen understood automatically. She did not need to say any more, but perhaps for just the sake of opening up to someone or letting the words tumble out, she went on. "It was…I…found you dead, Allen-kun…again. Every time…I have this dream…I wake up crying and…it feels like…my heart has been torn out…" She gasped.

Allen continued his calming strokes on her arm.

"Shh. It's okay, Lenalee, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it anymore. Just forget it, it's not real. I'm right here." He murmured.

Hearing him say that filled the girl with even more emotion and she collapsed into tears, half of anguish and half of joy. He felt so helpless in this situation. He hated it when she cried, _hated _it. He wanted to be able to do something for her, to make the pain she was bearing all by herself go away, or at least decrease in some way. If only he could take it all away from her and deal with it himself. He wanted to lift the weight off of her shoulders, for she seemed as though she were about to break from it any second.

He hugged her again, silently cursing himself since it was the only thing he could do for her.

After a few moments of silence only unbroken by the girl's uneven breathing, Allen felt her tense shoulders start to go limp. He wondered whether it was a good idea to let her fall asleep here where the cold winds could penetrate the cracks of the walls, but he simply did not have the heart to move or wake her.

_Besides,_ he reasoned. _If I brought her back to her room and left her by herself, she'd probably just have the same nightmare again after crying herself to sleep. _Allen gritted his teeth at even _considering _that possibility.

Instead, he lifted the cape of his uniform and draped it around her before resting his arm on her shoulders and pulling her closer again. He listened to her shallow breaths as they went from painful rasps to deeper, more even inhalations. Her pulse dropped slightly and he soon concluded that she was asleep, yet he could still see the many trails of fresh and drying tears alike staining her beautiful face. Gingerly, he reached out with his other hand and wiped them away gently with his thumb, a lovable smile on his lips.

He was not tired though, so he stared out the window and up at the misty moon that cast dancing shadows through the broken glass. The branches of the trees swaying in the wind performed black dances on the walls and floor while the moonlight complemented the slight glow coming from the clouds.

It was either very late or very early, Allen could not tell which, but he was not at all fazed by fatigue. He honestly would not mind to sit there all night with Lenalee at his side.

She showed no signs of discomfort or hints that she was being tormented by nightmares this time. Allen watched her fondly, frequently stroking her hair and resting his chin on her head. He was glad that he could at least bring her some peaceful slumber by staying with her.

Yet, he had just closed his eyes for a short nap himself when he heard her whimper. Immediately, but not with movements fast enough to wake her, he shifted and looked down at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were squeezed tightly, a single tear escaping past the lashes. The silver-eyed boy ran his right hand over her long hair and down her back slowly.

"It's okay, Lenalee." He murmured to her.

Then, being overcome by some longing desire, as though it were something he had wanted for years, Allen leaned forward and softly kissed her forehead.

In his mind he dreaded what would become of him if Komui ever found out somehow but pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

Affection sparkled in his silver-mist eyes as she stirred and blinked, her violet eyes fluttering to life like butterflies. It seemed to take a moment for her to get her bearings and recall what had happened and where she was. She blinked and looked up, finding her gaze locked with cloudy-gray orbs full of a mixture of gentleness and something else she could not quite describe…

"Did you sleep well, Lenalee?" He asked hopefully.

The dark haired girl's eyelashes fluttered before she blinked them fully awake.

"Mmhm." She mumbled sleepily.

"That's good." Allen did not know what else to say.

Lenalee realized the way she was leaning on him now, the way she was snuggled up against him in an embarrassingly comfortable position. His black cloak was laid across her shoulders and she was extremely close to him. She blushed and tried to shift a bit to move away from him. He blinked.

"A-Ah! Sorry. I didn't realize you were uncomfortable. You just fell asleep a-and you looked cold so I-" The boy tried to explain himself hastily.

_Uncomfortable? You've got it completely backwards, Allen-kun. _Lenalee stopped herself from speaking the words out loud. But instead she decided to try something else.

"No, it's not that." She shook her head. Then, gently shaking off his black cloak, she reached up with both hands behind her head and proceeded to untie her hair. Allen blinked and watched in confusion as she released her long, astonishingly beautiful pigtails from their captors. The moonlight flashed in through the windows and caught a sparkling reflection off of the dark jade strands, making the boy's mouth gap a bit at her beauty. He regained his composure in time when she stated.

"I just wanted to untie my hair. And," She then turned to him and looked up innocently into his eyes. "Allen-kun?"

"Y-Y-Y-Yes?"

"This may be sort of an odd request but, could you…braid my hair for me?"

"…Eh?" Now he was just plain stupefied. It _was_ quite out of the blue after all. He had never braided anyone's hair before. "I…I guess." He replied, still a bit dumbfounded.

"Thanks." She smiled, turning away from him.

Allen blinked again, only just realizing the task he had set up for himself. He did not know where to start. Uncertainly, he divided her hair into two parts, his fingers moving slowly and gently as not to hurt her.

"W-Why do you want to braid your hair?" He asked awkwardly.

"I just wanted to try something new." She replied simply. "And I can't do it myself since it's so long." That was true enough.

Allen took the hair on the left side and placed it over her shoulder. He then took the other bundle of green locks on her right and attempted to start a braid. It was not as easy as he thought it would be, since he only had sheer guesses on how to begin. The silence seemed like it was discomforting to him at first, but Lenalee seemed content. Still, Allen needed to break the silence.

"You're hair is so pretty, Lenalee. Promise me you won't ever cut it unless you really have to." He coughed to one side, hiding a blush even though she was facing the opposite direction.

"Sure, Allen-kun." She giggled lightly.

Another moment of silence ticked by as he scuffled with her tresses, only just beginning to get the hang of it. She was a bit stiff whenever his hands brushed her back, but soon relaxed, relishing his soft and gentle touch. Again the silence got the better of him and he felt the need to start up another conversation.

"Neh, Lenalee?"

"Hm?"

"D-Did you ever realize the similarities in our names?"

"Eh? Our names? What do you mean?" She turned her head slightly to peek at him from over her shoulder.

Allen mentally smacked himself for babbling and letting random stuff come pouring out of his mouth. But now that he had said it he needed to explain himself.

"Well, you and I, we have the same letters in our names. You could spell my name with yours and yours with mine. Both our first and last names combined also have the same amount of letters. I-I know it's really weird and random, i-it's just something I figured out one day." He finished clumsily.

But Lenalee seemed intrigued.

"Huh. That _is _odd. I never even realized that before…" She fell silent as though she had gone into deep thought before speaking up again. "Who would've thought?" She laughed.

"Y-Yeah. It is weird." He agreed. For some reason, he felt elated now that he had gotten that thought off his chest. He never would have told it to anyone else. He discovered it and if anyone else did, they portrayed no signs of showing it.

Finally, his fingers reached the tips of the locks of her hair and he stopped. He then gathered the tresses on her left and began his attempts again. Lenalee shivered, not from the cool wind, but from the faint brushing of his fingers against her back. It almost tickled but not quite, yet just his touch made her feel happy. She had never been treated so sweetly before and she found it amusing that Allen was so shy by simply braiding her hair. He was so gentle and delicate, as if snapping off a strand or two would kill her somehow.

Lenalee could not hold off a yawn that she released in a long sigh.

"Hey now, don't fall asleep on me just yet. I'm almost finished." He announced. Rapidly, he finished up the last few twists. "Okay." He finished, letting her hair fall from his hands and run back down the length of her back. She turned around to face him.

"Well? How does it look?" She asked, cutely. Allen felt another blush coming on.

"I-It looks nice." He complemented. Lenalee tilted her head to one side.

"What? It's no good, is it?"

"…I think you look even prettier with your hair in straight pigtails." He admitted. Then he clamped his jaws shut, realizing exactly what he had just let slip out of his mouth.

"Eh? Y...You think I look…pretty?" In the ray of moonlight that shown directly onto her, he witnessed her blush a color that would put sakura petals to shame before she ducked her head in flattered embarrassment.

"W-Well I mean, y-you look beautiful either way-!" Again Allen stopped himself mid-sentence and mentally wounded himself.

Lenalee glanced up at him in disbelief. Then she gave a small smile and shook her head so that the braids came undone. Her hair cascaded down around her like a waterfall of shining jade.

"Really?" She queried.

"M-Mm." He nodded once, trying to fight back the color gathering on his face.

Lenalee too tried to fight off the blood that rushed to her cheeks in vain.

"T-Thank you." She finally managed to beam, her smile brighter than any reflection of the sun he had ever seen. They locked gazes for a moment, her sparkling, violet irises so full of joy that it caused him to smile. Then he sighed.

"All that hard work for nothing." He grumbled sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Hey, _you're _the one who said you like it better the other way." She pointed out. She then slid the two hair ties off of her wrist and presently refastened her hair into its usual pigtails. "Better?" She asked.

"Much." He grinned.

Then, he turned his attention up towards the windows and saw that the moon had shifted its position in the sky greatly since they had arrived. "Might as well head back." He suggested. It was probably about the usual time they would be getting up anyway.

"Mm." She nodded in agreement. Allen stood to his feet and stretched, then offered his right hand to her. She accepted gratefully and shakily found her balance. He loosened his grip so that she could slide her hand away, but instead she did just the opposite. She kept her hand in his palm and entwined her fingers with his. He smiled again and they began heading back through the small courtyard towards the main building.

"So," the girl piped up. "Our names have exactly the same letters." She pondered out loud.

"Well, our first names, anyway…actually its just my last name that messes it up." He laughed guiltily.

As they walked on together, Lenalee's heart beat at an ecstatic rate and Allen could feel it in her wrist. They shared a smile and saw their own feelings reflected in the other's eyes.

Lenalee now knew exactly what that unnamable emotion she had seen in his eyes earlier was. Not only could she see it blatantly in his eyes, but she had also felt it in the soft touch of his fingers and the warm kindness of his smile. She found the same emotion in the way he had comforted her and how he had held her so fondly. His very presence had essence of this emotion, which, she believed, was what prevented her from having to witness that same nightmare again tonight.

Yet the biggest aspect that had given away this unknown feeling, had been in the way he had tenderly kissed her forehead when she had been waking up from the horrifyingly dreadful oncoming dream before it had began.

She guessed that he had assumed she had not been conscious for this action he had taken, and she would let him believe that was the case for a while yet.

But ever since that night, no matter what the mission, or battle, no matter the situation or duty they had to fulfill, Allen and Lenalee were always a little bit closer to one another than they ever had been prior.

It was a very slight attraction they felt towards one another; so slight it was unnoticeable to all others. But deep down, they knew their own feelings as well as the other's.

They were simply waiting for the right time to let them be known.

One day, somewhere along the lines, Allen let his discovery about his and Lenalee's similar name spellings slip and soon the small discussion was widely known throughout the Black Order, though no one else saw what the big deal about it was.

Some others did notice the slight attraction between the two Exorcists, yet they passed it off as the assumption that it was simply because of the similarities their name spellings possessed.

Though a very peculiar assumption, for a time, Allen and Lenalee used it as a cover-up for the true feelings the held for one another.

They let everyone else believe that the only reason they were closer to one another than anyone else was simply because of Letters And Names.

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**A/N: Yay! Finished!! Fluff, fluff, fluff...**

**Lol, did anyone else ever realize their names had the same letters? I realized it a while ago when I was only reading the 2nd manga and I thought "Ugh! If only Allen's last name didn't have a W, K, or R!!" XD I think its cute though! Allena!!**

**Please, please review!!**


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